Finding Major Whitlock
by KatherineAnneMasen
Summary: Maria is fighting a losing battle; as Union forces dip into the south, towns are being evacuated and her hunting grounds reduced to nothing. Her army is weak, and she is hopeless. Until Jasper comes along and shows her what she is missing... M/later chapt
1. Chapter One: Major Jasper Whitlock

Chapter One: Major Jasper Whitlock

Maria was running through the woods as fast as she could, avoiding the confederate soldiers who were busy rushing to evacuate all the women and children. This relocation really made her mad; her hunting grounds were getting smaller and smaller as the war spread throughout the south. They were trying to move the humans to safer locations, and those so called safe locations were in rival land. What was she supposed to do now?

She felt two other figures join her, flanking her on both sides, running just as fast. She sniffed the air and was happy to recognize that it was Nettie and Lucy. She didn't say anything, just sped up. She needed to think alone, and they were not helping at all.

"Maria, please slow down. We need to talk strategy". Nettie knew those were the magic words, and she came to a halt, laughing as they kept running past her. She sat down and waited for them to come back.

"Okay, so what idea do you have that I don't?" She asked. She couldn't imagine what they could possibly be thinking. They had exhausted every idea, and she was about ready to give up and relinquish the little land she had. Her army was weak, and they were at the bottom of the totem pole. The newborns were too wild, too unruly.

"Have we ever considered the fact that the newborns are so wild because that is what they were as humans? Think about it, Maria. We have been changing drunks, and people off the street, people who are shunned because they have no regard for the rules."

"Where are you going with this?" She asked.

"Change a soldier. People will not notice, I don't think, because it is a war. Pass it off as a MIA and we are good. Plus, they are trained and obedient." She sat back on the grass, a smug smile on her face. She knew she had me. I stood up, and looked around us.

"Well, there are plenty of them around. Take your pick Nettie." They stood up and joined me, making a circle. We could see all sides, hear everything.

"How about him? He is brave, obviously, if he is riding up to us." She pointed to a tall, handsome man on a horse, in a confederate uniform. He had the horse walking slowly, cautiously towards us, and he was staring at us with confusion. That must mean they thought they evacuated all the women.

"You guys need help?" He asked, and I practically melted. His voice was so lovely; no vampire could compare. His eyes, I could stare into them for days and not get tired. Of course, that would change. It would have to. His long blonde hair fell into his eyes. He was beautiful, even for a human. I had to have him.

"What's your name, soldier?" He dismounted and stood in front of me, taking his hat off his head and brushing the hair out of his eyes. I waved Nettie and Lucy off, and I heard them take off running full speed behind me. Way to scare him.

"Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am" And he smiled at me and I swear if I could still blush I would have been bright red in the cheeks.

"Well, I really hope you survive this Jasper." And then, I bit him.

Watching him fall to the ground, blood leaking out of his neck, it was driving me absolutely crazy! That smell, that taste. It was the sweetest taste I had ever experienced. Was this Jasper, was he the "singer" I had heard about so many times during my short existence? I wanted to drink from him, suck him dry.

His face was contorting in pain, the venom quickly spreading through his body. He reached up and grabbed the front of my shirt, and I could tell it took all he had not to scream. He looked like he had something to say, and it killed me to watch him go through all this pain. I picked him up in my arms and ran to an old abandoned house I had come across a few weeks ago, setting him on the couch and sitting with his feet in my lap. I lit a candle and grabbed some paper, drawing as he burned.

A few times he was able to scream, able to ask me to just kill him. I always put my hand in his, rubbing soothing circles on the palm of it. I looked at him with great pity in my eyes. I cried without tears when he let out an ear splitting scream as the pain got worse, the fire hotter and the blades multiplied. I kissed him full on the lips, pulling back and whispering comforting words to him. "I know, it hurts.", "I am sorry, Major", "It will end soon", and the one that shocked us both the most "I love you".


	2. Chapter Two: Newborn

Chapter Two: Newborn

At about noon on the third day of his burning, I felt him gasp. He started to slowly move his fingers and his heart rate sped up. I knew it was ending, and I knew this would be the worst pain yet. If he had become numb at all to anything I had put him through, this would be worse than that. He lifted his arms once the flames had left them, and put them over his heart. I moved up and set him in my lap, holding him close. I laid my head on his hands, his now cold hands. He grabbed at my head, caressing me there. He tried biting me, trying to release some of the pain, and I lifted a hand to his mouth so he could bite down on it. I loved him, and I was eager for his pain to end.

Thump Thump thump thump, his heart was now beating faster than a train, and getting even faster each second. It seemed like it was trying to get a lifetime of beats in; it knew it only had seconds more. I kissed his chest gently, and felt him tangle his hands in my hair. How on earth could this guy be making me go so crazy for him? How could he be this in control of his emotions?

Wait a second, he wasn't. As his heart reached the fastest I am sure it has ever been, he pushed me off of him angrily. I crashed into the wall at the other end of the room, making a human sized hole in the wood. He was strong, that much I could tell. And he was almost reborn. I heard his heart start to strain; it stopped for a few seconds, then started back up, and then stopped and started again. The venom was working. He screamed out, the worst scream I have ever heard. It was like a man who had his chest ripped open and someone set fire to his heart, and only his heart; and managed to stay alive for it. He looked right at me, his eyes full of fury and wonder, and understanding. He knew what he had become, and knew that I was one too. He knew why I changed him, though how he knew I did not know. I loved him so much, and I felt myself fill with compassion for the man lying there. His heart beat once, twice, then stopped. He laid on the couch, panting, his eyes closed.

I slowly walked over to him, deliberately making my steps loud so he would know I was approaching. I looked at him, so beautiful. More beautiful than before.

"Major Whitlock?" I whispered, very quietly, so only he could hear. "Are you okay now?"

His eyes opened and he stared at me. They were a deep red, a colour that induced fear in the hearts of humans. He moved his hands, and in less than a second was halfway across the room from me. He looked all around him, and sat on the ground, with his face in his hands.

"I know, it is a bit overwhelming, isn't it? It gets so much better though, I promise. Are you thirsty? We can hunt. I won't ever hurt you again, I promise that too. I love you, Major Whitlock." I walked over to him, sitting on the floor beside him and putting my arm on his shoulders. He sighed, breathed in, and grabbed at his throat.

"It burns." He said. I just nodded and watched him sniff at the air more. "Is that, blood? It smells so good." He stood and turned, searching for the source. I followed him wordlessly around the house, and when he jumped out a window I copied. I was letting him hunt on instinct, and it was working.

We came to a bar, where a few confederate soldiers had stopped for a drink. He looked at me, scared, and I held out my hand for his and led him around the back.

"The drunk ones don't taste the greatest, but it dulls that burn you feel in your throat. It makes you strong, too." I stood on top of a bar that framed stairs leading into the basement storage. "If you don't want to kill them, I understand. You might have known some of them. But it will help you"

"I got them." He mimicked me, standing on the bar as well. We stood and waited, and I told him stories. I told him what he was, though he had guessed that already. I told him what I did, and I told him about my friends and family. We traded histories, and when the bartender came outside, he pounced without thinking about it. I forgot how thirsty he would be when he woke.

He was sloppy too, standing up with a blood stained shirt. Some of it was his, but he had it all down his front and in his hair. I laughed, and walked over to him.

"Lets hide him, then I will help you with that" I showed him how to rake your fingers in the side, to make it look like an animal attack. I showed him where to put the bodies; in the middle of an ally way, and I showed him the proper technique to drink so he didn't make such a mess.

"I feel that, Maria."

"Feel what?"

"That lust you have to come here and lick the blood off my lips" He moved closer to me, and whispered "So come and get it"


	3. Chapter Three: I Wish I Were Special

Chapter Three: I Wish I Were Special.

It didn't take us long to figure out Jasper was special, like I had thought he would be. Though he exhibited normal newborn behaviours - out of control thirst, quickly changing emotions - he learned quickly from his mistakes. He also rose quickly to a very respected position among the other newborns. He was the youngest of the lot, but they all looked to him for guidance. In battle, he was the strongest, and he looked at it from all sides; where could they reach us from? What attack would work best? He saw things from a military standpoint and it helped him greatly.

And one day, when we were lying in the overgrown grass on a hill, stargazing, it became apparent just how special he was.

"I can sense your emotions, you know" He put his arm around my shoulders, and pulled me closer to his chest. "Like, right now, you feel safe, happy, peaceful. I like this climate. In war, you feel hostile and stressed out. I don't like that climate at all."

I just stared at him, a blank look on my face. Was he telling me he had a power? That was so rare! And to have him, the powerful one, in my army? Well, that made it even better.

"I want to try something" He sat up so quickly even _I_ missed it. Then, he held out his hands for mine, and I gave them to him. He pulled me up into a sitting position, kissed my fingertips, and then looked at me for a moment. I found myself growing furious, and I didn't know why. Was it the way he looked at me? No, there was nothing but love and adoration in those eyes. Was it the way he hadn't dropped my hands? His were warm to my touch and I liked it being there.

Before I could fully grasp what I was so mad about, I felt myself getting so terribly sad. I wanted to cry, and I actually started to sob tearlessly, and then I was overcome with a great calm. I was worse than a newborn! What was he doing to me? Was that him?

"I am sorry Maria. But it obviously worked"

"What was that, Jasper?"

"I noticed that when I felt calm, and I thought about how I wanted certain newborns to feel calm, they did. It stopped the fighting. I wasn't sure if it was me, though." He leaned in and kissed my lips gently. "I guess it was me." Then, he let go of my hands and laid back down, patting the ground beside him.

"I wish I were special" I laid down next to him again, settling my head on his chest once again. He kissed the top of my head as a breeze started up again. I could have laid there forever with him. I wanted to. If I could have just forgotten our battles and escaped to paradise with him, I would have.

"Maria, you are more special that anyone else here. You are beautiful and talented and controlling and sweet and just perfect." I flipped myself up and laid down on his body, pressing myself against him. He groaned underneath me, and I giggled.

"Is that what you want?" He smiled up at me, and pulled me down to kiss him again. This time, it was longer, deeper, more passionate. I would have loved to continue that kiss for the rest of eternity, but there were other parts being neglected. I felt his hands slide down my back, and rest right on the bottom middle. He started pushing my shirt up, and I pulled his hands away.

"This is one time where it is not ladies first" I started unbuttoning his shirt as slow as I could, teasing him.

"Maria, Jasper, come quick. The newborns are fighting, and some of them have gone into town."

What, was I not allowed to have one moment of peace? I felt my anger growing at the newborns, and at Nettie, for daring to interrupt our moment together.

"Maria, honey. Calm down. We can finish later" Jasper smoothed out my brow, picked us both up, and removed his shirt. He then grabbed my hand and we both ran down to camp.

Nettie would just have to pay later for that little interruption. If it wasn't absolutely necessary she would pay. I hoped for her sake it was, though, because I loved her dearly and wanted her with us. Just not in moments like that.

When we got to camp, though, we realized that it was needed. Everything was on fire, and vampires, young and old alike, were being thrown into the flames. Their screams were echoing all around us, a deafening noise. I was surprised they weren't all dead yet. And it was obvious they needed


End file.
